Page92
Sitemap make this part of Agriculture in Rapture --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- Farming in Rapture : --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- Farming History in Rapture : * Large number of farms were required to make Rapture 'Self-Sufficient'. Automation and mechanization would be used to improve the productivity of 'farmers'. 2% of the population (assume 40000) would be >800 farmers (and probably a higher percentage needed due to being less efficient than typical modern US yields). * City Recycling systems were closely tied to farm operations (fertilizer from sewage/seaweed, CO2 from city air and industrial output). * Outlying large farms near Rapture's Satelite communities (some specializing in farming and away from the 'distracting' city environment). * Farms ran thru the period of 'Chaos' - many kept producing foodstuffs, others just growing Wild, untended, many destroyed. * Ryan kept supporting the farmers as long as he could, as he knew that many Rapturians would soon starve without them. * Lamb put many of her mind-numbed subjects to work as farm laborers which counted for a large proportion of the popultaion because of the inefficiency of the collectivist style system (top down decision making and lack of individual incentive).* ** Lamb would have put to farmwork the people under her thumb - to keep the 'family' occupied. Forcing many people to work (likely many non-splicers) to make sure she and her controlling minions (Splicers) had plenty to eat. ** When Lamb's regime ended, these farms probably still operated and by the time of the MMORPG yet exist - either under the thumb of other petty Splicer tyrants, or closed themselves off and have survived as long as their infrastructure held up. * More than a few Farms in the 'Wilds' are still operating feeding Splicer factions (mostly run by those who didn't splice too much or became less insane) - the humble potato is the most common crop... Players will run into more than a few 'farm' locations out there. * Many of the farming communities (non-Splicers) isolated themselves from the Civil War and from the predations of Lamb and other miscreants, with numerous independant farms still existing and producing food in all the many isolated/uncontrolled areas. These people would probably welcome reconnecting with the 'New' Rapture. * Many laborers are needed for food production, as any automation systems failed because noone could do the maintenance or knew how to run them properly - skill loss. The New City is working on bringing up the efficiency by repairing the machines and teaching the skills and offering incentives to Citizens to improve productivity and diversity of products. --- --- --- Research Developments to adapt Farming to Rapture : * Ryan had his people scour the world looking for useable variations/hybrids of crops/animals. * Mechanization and automatic environment control (overcoming the ocean cold and darkness). * Accelerated growth plants that can use more nutrients and light and CO2 concentrations. * Later period - ADAM genetic mutations developed for dwarf, rapid growth, higher yields variations. * Advanced hydroponic techniques with lights, nutrient combinations, etc... --- Basic Farming Styles/Mechanisms : * Dirt farming - easier to mechanize but limited growth surface - requires alot of 'acreage'. (ie- in caverns) * Hydroponic farming - much greater density of growing area (can be stacked and done in a building/factory environment) * Garden plots/windowboxes * Animal Husbandry - raising animals largely using the products of the plant farming methods. * Oxygen farming - Frankentrees and a few other specialized plants can be grown producing 'oxygen' which the City or an industry pays for. --- --- --- Types : - Tree farm to produce wood, were geneticly altered for faster growth/production. - Frankentrees used to convert CO2 to O2 for city air system (byproduct wood pulp used for paper and other products) - Food Production - vegetables, fruits, grain - Pharmaceutical products --- --- EVEplants - Fish farms - fish grown inside Rapture (versus Fisheries that catch fish outside in the sea). Why chase them thru the ocean when you can grow them at home. - Shellfish Farm - ie-Mussels - Seaweed farms - one of the mainstays of the city food production. More than a few useful products can be made from the many varieties (including fertilizers for farming). - Farm animals - rabbits, chickens, goats, mutant cows - Fiber crops for clothing, etc... - Mushrooms (no light requirement) - Decoratives (flowers, etc...) - Herbs - Feedplants for livestock (sometimes byproduct of other crops) - Parks are operated similarly to farms - similar requirements to maintain them. . --- Details about actual farming components : - Farm Location - large surface areas/volume required for mass farming techniques. - Insulation - need to maintain regular temperatures much higher than cold rock (which has temperature of nearby ocean water). Lowers heating requirements. - Lights - grow lights - arc-lamps as an alternative to bulbs - Sufficient artificial sunlight IS requiremed for greenery to grow. Constantly on lighting accelerate plant growth. - Air circulating fans and vents - movement of Air in Rapture - CO2 needed by farms - used air is circulated thru and renewed. - Fresh water. Because of the virtually closed system much of the water may be reused from local condensation. - Temperature control - heating/cooling/regulating/humidity for different crop type's optimal environments. Controlled climate allows year-round growing of crops. - Nutrients/fertilizer - Sewage processing into Fertilizer for the new farms, Fishgut fertilizer again to be collected. - Seeds - supplied by existing farms or gathered from wild sites inside city. Some seed storage facilities did exist from the Pre-Civil War days. Some new seeds may be brought in from the surface. The City Farming Exchange have many varieties of seeds available for new farming projects. - Hydroponics - Pumps, tanks, racks, tubing, valves, fluids, filters - Labor - some farming machinery is still operational/repairable, but alot of work is still done by hand. - Skills and training (scientific farming can boost yields by many times when done correctly) --- --- Get assistance by Farming skill experts (as well as develop them yourself) ....botanical research.... --- --- The City offers skill training for this important resource - Cats for vermin control (a bunch of these no doubt survived at the isolated 'farms') - Bees and Earthworms both 'natural' components very useful to agriculture. - Mulch-piles/compost digestors - recycling farming waste (methane control is a safety concern) - might actually be a 'industry' to FARM Methane (used for fuels and industrial processes) .... - Pesticides - even with all the precautions, pests managed to get into Rapture and still require countermeasures. - Beware of using ADAM to mutate trees or you might wind up with something like those Unfriendly Apple Trees seen in of the Wizard of Oz. . --- Typical small Farmstead that fed Rapture : - The larger a rock cavern is, the more likely it will be structuraly unstable and require extra reinforcement. Smaller sized tunnels are generally more stable/self-supporting. - The greater the distance from a light the weaker the light intensity (and all these farms use artificial lights). - Solution - Farm's growing space in Tunnels - hydroponic methods used for the majority of farming. (though with all the space now available in 'the City', stripped out buildings can also be used). - Reflector surfaces can increase light intensity on growing surfaces (metal foils used on inside edge of 'insulation panels). - Heated by the same Geothermal sources which heats the rest of the city. Electric 'grow-lamps' mostly used (Fluorescent type UV lamps). - No special raw material resource needed for a 'farm' at a location (except solid rock) so most could be located close to the City. Convienent transportation is prefered. - Tunnels/Chambers can be stacked 3D, so can pack alot of growing space into a given volume. - Unoccupied High-rises can be used as 'farms' as long as the environment and utilities are stable. - Many Splicers have their little 'gardens' out in the 'Wild'. Various factions have larger ones. - Some 'dwarf' plants were selected and developed for easier use in this style of 'farming'. - Fertilizer nutrients from various sources (city sewage, chemical plants, seaweed mulch, etc...) - CO2 laden air routed from the City and sometimes simple industrial exhaust (thus clusters of farms around some outlying industrial sites). Some farms burn farm waste to produce CO2 if needed. - Automation, machinery and productivity. Hydroponics systems can be restored/salvaged/repaired. - Potatoes - which can grow in faily miserable conditions - HEY now the citizens of Rapture can have Fish-N-Chips to get thoroughly sick of. With hundreds or thousands of kinds of potatoes grown around the World, I could see some enterprising farmers sending away for many kinds (early days when imports of useful items were still being made) to see which ones grew best in the less than optimal environs of Rapture. --- Mini-Game - Your Farm - setup and operate a farm to feed New Rapture (with something other than fish and seaweed) : - Farming mini-game for 'managing' a player run Farm (another mini-game would be for a farm 'job' quest) - The 'Farm' mini-game I've mentioned elsewhere (Tablet interface compatible) would have a one-to-one representation in the game world (where those cute icons will represent rows of plants/machines/animals/etc.. in the game world. - Growing crops (farm games existed LOOONG before Farmville) to sell is the goal. - Tending animals (beware the mutant cows(now who was stupid to ....) and flamethrowing chickens, thieving Splicers...) --- --- Grow crops to feed animals (grain = $ real meat = $$$$) --- --- Finding new livestock - they didnt all freeze or starve to death when mainy areas fell into ruin --- --- Fences (wandering animals damage crops and wind up on someone elses dinner plate) --- --- Farmville never had cows that shoot lightning and fireballs out of their... who's bright idea was it to inject cows with Adam? --- --- There always has to be a 'secret cow level'. - Progressive (long term) development of the farm (its not a single-sitting game) - manage your farm - keep it running. - Add (buy) more lights to improve growing environment, better controls, fancy watering rigs : --- --- Get those electric hookups done for your proposed farm (the heat conduits and air vents too). --- --- Electric Greenhouses take alot of lightbulbs - arc lamps, an old simple technology. --- --- Hydroponics, for those who like laying pipe... - Landscaping materials would have to be brought in for 'dirt' farming : --- --- Sea-bottom mud/sand is suitable for 'earth' to plant things in and fertilizers are already in production for farming. - Hire more NPCs to tend your crops (manage their activities and hire workers with needed/higher skills) - Add new crop types (get new seeds to grow a few plants, then with multiplying quantities to grow more for later crops) --- --- Numerous plants of many varieties can still be found growing in places in 'the wild' as well as in the city. - Bring in/process fertilizer (mulched from the inedible seaweed/fishguts/sewage) to improve your farms soil. - Keep the vermin away (who try to eat your crops) - countermeasures cats/flybots/traps/shotgun. - Skills to develop to increase and expand your farms efficiency (decide to put resources into research to improve techniques). Grow more difficult/valuable crops.. - Dirt-farm crop rotations (grow legumes to rebuild your soil - peanuts are popular). - Buy more equipment/machinery to expand and improve yields (mechanization - a machine can do the work of dozens of men). - Market your production (contracts with the City, brokers, booth at the 'Farmers Market' etc...) --- --- Highest demand foods generate highest selling prices - picking your crops to match demand... --- --- Fast crop turnover with the accelerated growth. - Bees - mutant and otherwise (some crops cannot be grown without them) - A small farm today can grow into a major operation - everyone wants food and 'better' food even more. - For those who dont like tedium (more than a few minutes attention a week), the player doesn't have to micromanange their farm, but wont get the full potential. NPCs can run your farm for you with 'average' results - Building a 'Farm' is a civic achievement project (Prestige for your actively supporting the city). --- --- Establish a productive Farm (increasing/diversifying city food supply, meeting the minimum size requirement) --- --- "Achieved" after first adequate harvest (a fixed production quota - typical goal is feeding 20 other people) --- --- Can be run by someone else later (not everyone is a 'farmer') --- --- Important products other than food can be grown. --- --- Farming can include aqua-farming (fish farms, coral, shellfish, seawead farming, seaslugs...) --- Ceres Green : - The Central Farming District (near Arcadia) with its extensive underground (miles of tunnel/caverns) farms/vineyards. * The City is gradually restoring this half wrecked district to productivity. * Also is home of the primary 'Frankentree' Plantations used to recycle Rapture's Oxygen. * Numerous 'jobs' are available to players (and NPCs) who need the CASH or want to expand their farming skills. * Related industries are also located nearby * food processing plants, canneries, Produce distributers. . .